“Nadia, will you walk with me?” I asked her sweetly.
She looked up from the fire at me and smiled, gathering her skirts off the rock she’d been sitting on. “Of course, dear. Is everything alright?”
I nodded slowly and took her by the hand when offered. “Yes, I just need to speak with you in private.”
My loving aunt didn’t even flinch, she just guided me from the clearing and started off into the trees. Once we were out of earshot and she felt we could speak freely, Nadia asked me, “Alright, child. What is it you wanted to talk about?”
“I need to kill Aidan.”
The words hung there in the darkness as she waited for me to get to my point. “How did you…”
“How did you Kill Raffe?” I asked her slowly.
She looked up at me with those dark, gray eyes of hers and raised a quizzical eyebrow.
“You told me you killed him when you came to Elyse’s funeral, and now I just saw it with my own two eyes. I saw his flesh crumble as he shriveled into nothing and now I need to know how. What did you use?”
Nadia smiled knowingly. “You’re getting powerful,” she commented. “I always knew you would be, you’ve got a fire in you that can’t be sated. That’s also a clever observation you made. Like anything else of value, there is a trick to it — you must use the appropriate tool. Fae are the sons and daughters of Lilith, and only they can find the garden which holds the magic tree.”
“Who?”
“Lilith was made for Adam in the Garden of Eden before the birth of Eve. Unlike Eve, who was made from Adam’s rib, Lilith was made from the earth itself. She was tied to nature, not men.”
Suddenly I remembered the dream I had where Mom was Eve. There was another woman there when she bit into the apple. I could picture her now in my mind’s eye, the figure lurking in the shadows made from clay and stone, just as Lilith had been described. I’d seen her again in the vision I’d had with Sera when she was walking thought the ruins.
She’s still there, I realized. She never left the garden….
“And the magic tree is in the Garden of Eden … the apple?”
“That was not the only tree,” Nadia reminded me.
I froze as realization struck me. Oh, my God, she’s right.…
So often I forget there was another tree so dangerous to the souls of men it was guarded by cherubim, so they wouldn’t live forever with their sin — the Tree of Life. It was a completely separate entity.
Now that I considered it, I could see how a weapon forged from that tree could kill an immortal.
A plan started forming in my head, and I grasped desperately at something I hadn’t felt in quite some time — hope.
~ * ~
“This is pointless,” I grumbled in aggravation.
Charley rolled her eyes and came towards me with her arms crossed in front of her chest, her perfectly doll-like face somewhat offsetting and terrifying as she was settled deep within her element. Her eyes were no longer green, but brilliant red with veiny streaks coming out from underneath. “Only if you let it be,” she countered firmly.
I grumbled and tried again to invade her mind. It started with potential, then fizzled into nothing. I groaned, shaking out my arms and rolling my neck to release some tension. I chuckled and said, “Yeah, I bet you’re loving this.”
“A little,” she confessed. “Brace yourself!”
When Charlene came at me again, she flipped off one of the kennels, then blinked to right behind me and tackled from behind. I caught her misdirection instantly, and flipped her off my shoulder, but it broke the connection I was trying to make in tapping into her memories. “It shouldn’t be this hard. I can’t concentrate when you’re attacking me at the same time.”
Charley scoffed. “Well, I’m pushing back, Wynn. I’m not just going to let you have a free pass.”
“That’s not fair! It’s my first time,” I complained.
“I’m going easy on you,” she corrected.
I snorted, still breathing heavily through my nose and brushed my hair out of my face. I hadn’t expected to break a sweat like this, but keeping up with her was downright exhausting. “Right….”
“I am,” she insisted. “Think about it. If you were up against a human or some other non-magical creature, that would be one thing, but you’re talking about a Demon Lord. Once magic enters the equation, it changes things, you know that. Aidan’s not going to let you waltz right in and see the inner workings of his brain.”
I sighed, knowing she was right. “I guess not.”
“Exactly, he’s the Lord of Pride. In some ways, that’s predictable, but in others—”
“Yeah, he can be a loose cannon,” I finished for her.
“To come at Aidan smartly, it will take time, but the payout will be worth it. It's not about fighting hard; it's about fighting smart. To his credit, Lucifer taught you well, and you’ve got some impressive skill, but one thing he never taught you was how to wait. Sometimes vengeance takes time and planning to do it right. Don’t charge in half-cocked or you’ll get killed. You must study your opponent, learn their weakness, and wait for the moment to strike.”
I thought back to all my previous encounters and realized she was right, my temper usually flared before a plan had formed in my head.
“That’s easier said than done,” I argued nervously.
Charley sighed. “There are two ways to attack an enemy, Wynn. Belphegor, for example, uses brute strength and barrels through a war zone destroying everything in his path. It’s a valid strategy, but it’s also loud, disruptive and attracts attention. It only works if you’re ready to have that trail of annihilation leading back to you, then deal with the repercussions. I’m trying to teach you the better way. It takes longer and isn’t as flashy, but it gets the job done. A well thought out precision strike might not sound as sexy as brutally clubbing him to death, but it’s more effective in the long run. To do that, you’ve got to be in control.”
I sighed. “Okay, you’re right. What do I do?”
“That’s one of the benefits of the assassin’s strike. Your focus is on them, so it’s harder to escape.”
“Even Lucifer?”
Charley smiled. “The thing about that, is Demons like him are thousands of years old. That doesn’t happen without acquiring a couple of pressure points along the way, we just need to find out what they are. Aidan’s the Lord of Pride, and my guess is that his pride is what is going to be his downfall.”
“Over-confidence … I like it.”
“You know that old saying of ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer’?”
“Yeah.”
“Take that same concept and apply it to this. You’re gonna get inside his head and underneath his skin. Aidan wants to believe you’ll eventually come to him, so he’s already geared towards you. He’ll never see it coming. I, personally, can’t wait to see that demon rot.”
She had a fierceness in her eye that gave me butterflies in my stomach and a thrill of hope. “But how do you do that? How would I get that close?” A moment of understanding passed between us and I understood what she meant. “Oh…”
My heart sank as I realized what I had to do.
“But … Caleb?”
“He will have to understand,” Charlene insisted.
“You think I can do it?”
Charley smiled. “I know you can. You might have to get … closer to his inner circle than you’d like, but barring a colossal failure, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work.”
“Okay, well talk to me about pushback then. You kicked me out just now because you’re stronger. How do I shift the balance to my favor?”
“The stronger your presence is, the harder your powers will be to resist.”
“So … how do I increase my presence?”
“There’s a lot of things that go into that, from force of will to how old you are.”
“Then I am screwed.”
“There … is
one other way to increase presence, but you’re not going to like it.”
“Charley, you have to tell me.”
“You have to feed.”
She and I both stopped what we were doing and stared at each other in tense silence, while the weight of that sank in.
“I said you won’t like it,” she reminded me.
“Do you feed on Ryan when you’re getting hungry?”
“What? No, I would never hurt him like that.”
I nodded. “Then you understand how I feel. I’ve been fairly candid on my opinion regarding that — it’s not an option.”
“I understand.”
“I do have a question, though: when you became human did you lose ALL your powers?”
Charley grinned. “Not all of them,” she said. “As you know, when I was in the Realms Below, they placed me in Belphegor’s house. That’s how things work down there, it’s a feudal monarchy. Demons function primarily beneath a master. Once they’ve been assigned, they are marked … branded … so everyone knows who they belong to. There are seven royal houses, you’ve met the head of each of them. Which house you belong to comes with certain benefits and flaws. The Demon Lords want to appear strong, so they imbue their subjects with power to reflect that. They’re powerful and have complete dominance of their domain, but it limits them.”
“Meaning?”
“You can’t be great at everything, so you specialize in one. There are schools of magic, Wynn. If you want to be great, then you pick a major. I chose one myself that I felt suited me.”
“And that is?”
“Ice. Would you like to see?”
I nodded vigorously.
“If I show you what I really am, then you’re not allowed to judge me.”
“Okay….”
“Okay. Step back,” she commanded.
I obliged her request and almost immediately, her tongue flicked out of her mouth like a snake, tasting the air around her and I gulped. Then she twisted backward in an unnatural fashion, and her skin ripped apart to reveal a leviathan serpent. It burst forth from her slight form with an explosion and grew to be twelve feet tall. Thick, pearly, white scales covered her body like armor and three, sharp blue fins erupted from her back, running along the spine.
I jumped back immediately, and adrenaline started coursing through my body at the sight of it. “Whoa….”
The white leviathan smiled, pulling away its snakelike jaws to reveal some pointed, and I’m assuming venomous, fangs. Her long and scaly body coiled around the rehearsal room as she flicked her forked tongue.
When my eyes widened at the enormity of her, she breathed out an icy breath of air and caused a barrage of frozen crystals to form on the air conditioning unit. Icicles hung from the ceiling and the entire section had been frozen so I could see my breath.
I laughed out loud in surprise and awe as I went to examine it. “Charley, that’s amazing!”
“Thank you.”
When I turned around, she was back in her human form, looking shy and a little embarrassed.
“You don’t think I’m a monster?”
I smiled. “Charley, you’ve seen my demon form. It’s cool, but it’s nothing compared to that. You are truly awesome.”
Charlene laughed nervously.
“I mean it!” I told her honestly. “So ... ice is your thing, huh?”
“Yup.”
“Sweet, that’ll come in handy during the summer. Hopefully … I’ll be around to see it.”
Charley blushed. “That kind of thinking is exactly what you need to avoid. You’re better than them, Wynn, and I’m not lying when I say I believe in you. You’re focusing on merely not failing and what you need to be focusing on is succeeding. Forget about the trials and think of it as just being the best version of you that you can be. The fact you care is what makes you better than them. You defeated Abaddon because you’re willing to fight. You’re better than Belphegor because you care about collateral damage. You defeated Sathanus by forgiving your sister’s killer. You defeated Beelzebub by … well, I don’t really know how you did that one, but the necklace says you passed. You’re going to defeat the others because you’re better than them too, even Lucifer. Do you want to know why? Because Aidan goes it alone, he’s an arrogant son-of-a-bitch, but you’re not. You’ve got a strong group of friends who love you and you’re not too proud to ask for help. Now come on, let’s do this.”
I nodded and cleared my mind, taking the battle stance to try it once again.
It’s all about force of will.
My attempt was met with resistance, like before, but then suddenly it opened up in front of me and I was standing in the underworld. As far as I could see, the landscape was dotted with ziggurat structures that had plumes of fire burning at the top. Huge steps led up the alter, but even from this distance I could tell they were much too large for human use. Smaller paths had been chiseled away into the rock beside it, which I assumed were used by servants.
Rocky, dry terrain lay beneath my feet, and as I glanced around to catch my bearings there was a tremendous roar behind me. I jumped back in shock reflexively and turned around to see a giant three headed dog chewing happily on a Frisbee and fighting with itself. Beside it, Charlene was sitting quietly on a boulder holding a bag of treats. Her hair was even paler blond than I remembered … and shorter.
Before I could take in the vision completely, it shifted once again and we were transported to a small chamber where she sat quietly on the side of a bed. The walls had been chiseled out of rock and were only illuminated by the fire sconces on the wall outside. Drips echoed in the distance and her face twisted at the sound of it. I followed her gaze down the hall and felt a sick feeling come over me.
There was a crack of a whip, followed by understandable screaming and a slew of profanity. Over and over again the creatures yowled with pain, or cried out for mercy, falling on deaf ears. As the screams grew louder, Charlene became increasingly uncomfortable and paced back and forth across her room.
I watched her as she reached underneath her bed without saying a word and pulled out the violin. As she removed it from the case and brought the wooden instrument to her chin, a sort of hush fell across the building. Charley was totally serene, drawing the bow across the strings and filling the air with music as she swayed gently in the darkness.
The song was beautiful and drowned out most of the screaming. I found myself choking up at the sound of it, when the cries of horror gradually subsided and there was nothing but her music.
For a moment, there was quiet until she put the bow away and one of the ogres stood menacingly in her doorway. Charlene gasped at the sight of him and the demon sneered at her. “What have I told you about playing that thing in here?”
“I’m sorry, Kalthaur, it won’t happen again.”
He smiled cruelly before brushing past her and ripping the case away from her. “I know it won’t.”
“No! Please, you don’t know how long it took me to get that one!”
I watched in horror as he took the instrument and crushed with his giant hands and let the rubble fall in pieces to the floor. “Maybe next time, you won’t interfere with the master’s punishment.”
She fell to the ground in tears and started picking up the pieces as I was pulled back into the present, gasping. Charlene sat in her chair serenely, and her face broke out into an evil smile.
“YES!”
Just then my phone started ringing in the corner and broke my concentration. Charley rolled her eyes and I bowed my head defeated. “Sorry, do you mind if I get that?”
She waved me off, and I walked over to my bag. One glance at the caller ID and I felt my stomach drop. Nathan Hendricks.
I knew my brother, and he hated using the phone. If it was just their weekly check in, then he and Dad would have been calling together from the land line.
Something’s wrong.
My pulse quickened as I hit the button to accept the call. “Hey, Nate?�
�
“Wynn? Thank God you answered, I’m freaking out over here.”
Oh no. The sound of his voice tugged violently at my hearts strings, knowing he was scared. Oh God, what if something happened? I promised to protect them.
I’d thought leaving would draw the fight away, leaving him and Dad safe, but what if I was wrong? That meant I had left them unprotected. I swallowed hard as I glanced down at the receiver and spoke calmly and clearly into the phone when I responded. “Nate, what’s going on? Is everyone okay?”
“Something’s happening to me,” he choked out nervously on the other line.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m sparking electricity! I just fried my laptop from across the room.”
Chapter Sixteen
Afraid of Your Own Shadow
I looked out the window and sighed as we drove down the winding streets towards my house.
We’d been driving for a couple of hours, and the familiar roll of the country hills made me glad to be returning home. I’d almost forgotten how beautiful the cotton fields were and the tranquil beauty of the deep south.
It was home.
Caleb and I had just dropped off Lacey with her parents, and I was bouncing with unspent energy after being cooped up in the car all day. The rainbow scarf Elyse had knit me was wrapped thoroughly around my neck. I appreciated the warmth it gave as the autumn days grew colder, despite the faux-pas it was to wear such a ridiculous garment. It brought the familial joy of being loved and made me feel like she was with us. It was the first holiday season without my sister, and I clung to the wretched knitting as if it could will her into being.
As I was pondering what the next week would bring, Caleb reached across the consul and took me by the hand. “Are you excited to be going home?”
I grinned as he turned into my neighborhood. “Yeah, we’ll have a full house this year with you and Nadia.”
“That’s true,” he agreed. “I’ll be glad to see her again. Were you planning on visiting your mom while we’re in town?”
The Devil's Due (The Earthwalker Trilogy Book 2) Page 24
